Kane wants Hawks to pick up pace

He believes fast style will work after All-Star break

Patrick Kane celebrates his goal in the shootout against the Senators at the United Center. (Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE, US PRESSWIRE)

Back in June when a TMZ photographer caught up with Patrick Kane hoisting a large silver chalice in the parking lot of a nightclub in Southern California, he hardly minded.

"Will you get girls with that Stanley Cup?'' the photographer asked Kane.

"I better,'' Kane replied with a goofy grin.

But when video surfaced Thursday of the tabloid show's omnipresent cameras hounding Jay Cutler and his girlfriend, Kristin Cavallari, on a shopping trip in Los Angeles, Kane just cringed.

"I feel bad for him,'' Kane told the Tribune in an interview. "Sometimes in the NHL you play up the big act on-camera. But if you're the quarterback of the Bears, it probably gets old pretty quick.''

So does inconsistency, and Kane realizes there will be fewer cameras to mug for at the end of this season unless the Blackhawks start winning more regularly in the remaining 32 games. As Kane headed to the NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, N.C., for a weekend of play beginning Friday, he did so mindful of the work that remains when he returns.

But which Hawks team will Kane rejoin?

The one dynamic enough to beat the Red Wings on Detroit's home ice Saturday and ascend to No. 4 in TSN's power rankings? Or the flat group that lost its second straight at the United Center to the Wild in a game Joel Quenneville said left the Hawks "sour''?

The Hawks are one of three teams with 56 points — the seventh-highest total in the Western Conference. One game they look capable of returning to the Cup Finals no matter the playoff seed, the next they look like they will be golfing by Easter.

"That's the way it has been all year,'' Kane said. "We take two steps forward and one step back. I still feel we're a real good team but we have work to do to get into the playoffs. It's kind of tough to put a finger on it.''

Getting a grasp on the Blackhawks' struggles has been a low priority in Chicago until now. The Hawks can thank the Bears for commanding so much attention with a deep playoff run and the Bulls' Derrick Rose for distracting folks at the United Center with a most valuable season.

Troy Brouwer and Bryan Bickell have more combined goals (27) than pricier core players Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland (21). Rookie goaltender Corey Crawford has been a revelation before a recent slump.

Overall lack of depth has made Quenneville's customary mixing and matching of lines harder to mesh. Nobody in the league executes the power play better but the Hawks' penalty-killing unit has been far too merciful. And there is a $10,000 reward for any fan who finds whatever's missing in the third period, when the Hawks' focus often leaves the building.

When opponents slow things down, "we become victimized by (them) being patient," Quenneville said. Almost as often as he combs his mustache, Quenneville says the Hawks want to play faster. But what Coach Q can't really say is how much harder that is to do with a roster thinner than last year's. It was nice of Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger to point that out after Sunday's game, don't you think?

The truth can hurt.

"If we sit back and 'play to tie' you see us struggle and you see us do that a lot,'' Kane said. "When we increase the pace, I'd say we're pretty dangerous. We just haven't done that often enough.''

As a result, captain Jonathan Toews has been even more serious than usual behind closed doors. It seems as if the Hawks have called more meetings than their marketing department. Even Kane has found himself being a little more of a leader, if only slightly louder.

"My first three years I was youngest kid on the team and now there's Nick Leddy so I'll have more fun before games trying to keep everybody loose,'' Kane said. "I would say I've been more vocal. Different players, not just one guy, have stepped up too. It's good to see. People care. People want to win.''

Nobody wants to win more than Kane, whose fire within often gets overlooked because of his fun-loving nature. It burned hottest during the eight games Kane missed in December with a left ankle injury. That tested him more than any defenseman such as Pronger ever did.

"I never really went through that,'' Kane said.

In 13 games back, Kane has scored two goals and eight assists, developing a knack for finding Sharp on the power play. But despite a slow start and surprise All-Star selection, Kane remains one of those players skilled enough to get hot and spark the Hawks to a long winning streak that has eluded them.

"I feel like I'm coming around to play better and hopefully will produce more to get back to my old self,'' Kane said.

Seeing more of the Kane we know would increase the chances of finding the team Hawks fans love.